HiltonT has been around in the IT industry for quite a while now and is a member of the Microsoft Server & Cloud iX International Customer Advisory Board. He was selected by Microsoft as their SBSC PAL in 2008-9. This Blog is his outlet - for all to read - of his thoughts and feelings about life in general (including the IT industry). Some is good, some is bad, but all in all, its his viewpoint. Enjoy!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Let me clearly say that I think that the work (at least in general) of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is impressive. What they are doing with education, health and promoting scientific and technological solutions to large scale human issues.

Now, having said that, it seems that there's a worm in this apple. Monsanto, a company known for aggressively pursuing beyond the bounds of reasonableness its patents on its Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Monsanto has bankrupted farmers who find Monsanto's GMO seed has blown onto their properties, and in Africa, they totally refused to compensate farmers who they convinced to use their GMOs instead of the regular crops by giving away free sachets of maize seeds, claiming they would produce better crops - these crops totally failed to produce any kernels at all.

So, I wonder how the Gates Foundation who promotes health, education and escaping from poverty can reconcile owning US$21.1m of a company who aggressively pursues those farmers who suffer the misfortune of having their GMO seeds blow onto an unsuspecting farmer's land. A company who doesn't care about the smaller farmer (as can be seen in this article.)

For more information on how aggressive and unreasonable Monsanto can be, spend 20 minutes having a listen to this information.

I think that an organization that promotes human rights has a moral and ethical responsibility to *not* invest in an organization that treats human rights with the disrespect and even disdain that a company like Monsanto does. If the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation cannot show where their investment in Monsanto is encouraging Monsanto to be a more reasonable company when it comes to protecting its patents at the expense of farmers' livelihoods, they need to sell these shares and invest in a more ethical company.

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About Me

Hilton, from Quark IT, was selected by Microsoft Australia to be the Small Business Specialist Partner Area Lead (SBSC PAL) representing the Australian Small Business Specialists to Microsoft US for the 2008-09 year. Post this appointment, Hilton continues to work towards developing the local, national and global SMB IT Professional community and ensuring knowledge is made available to those who seek it.

Hilton was a founding Board member of SMBiT Professionals, is currently the Vice President of the SMBiT Professionals - Brisbane chapter and was voted in the Top 150 SMB IT Professionals in both the 2012 and 2013 SMB150 Awards.